May 3rd , 2008
Vikings Advance 19 Athletes to the Finals
Mullen Run Nations 7th Fastest Time in the 400m IH

SAN MATEO - Sophomore Ben Mullen stole the show as he won the trials of the Intermediates in 53.89. The time is currently the 2nd best in the State and 7th best in the US for community college athletes. Mullen is also a member of both qualifying relay teams and will advance in the 110HH as well.

In the field, freshman BJ Miller (at left) created some buzz with his huge improvement in the men's triple jump. Miller's leap of 46-2.75 bettered his previous best by over 19-inches and found him with the third best mark of the trials.

Sophomores Ian Lujan and Josh Hernandez both qualified successfully in the men's 800m with a pair of personal bests. Lujan ran 1:56.77 to finish 3rd in his heat, while Hernandez improved to 1:54.91 to finish 4th in his heat.

On the ladies side, Yareni Carrasco finished 5th overall in the women's 400m just off her best with a time of 60.56. She was also an integral member of both relays.
- Complete Results -

West Valley will bring 19 athletes to the NorCal Finals to be held on Friday, May 9th at Modesto Junior College. From there, four athletes will qualify to the State meet in lane races and 6 atheltes will advance in the field events and non-lane races.

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April 26th, 2008
Men Finish 2nd in Conference
Mullen and Goodrich Win Individual Titles

MONTEREY - The 2008 Coast Conference Championships are complete and your West Valley Vikings faired very well. Hartnell College successfully defended their team title on the men's side, but your Vikings captured 2nd place with their efforts. Our women finished 9th, while Laney College took the crown.

Sophomore Ben Mullen (at right) was definitely our athlete of the meet as he competed in 10 events, including preliminaries, over the two days of competition. He also earned 4 All-Conference honors and two first place finishes totally 23 individual points for the team. Individually, Mullen took 1st in the 400m (48.91), 3rd in the 110HH (15.19), and 5th in the 400IH (57.57). He was also a member of both relay teams, with the 4x100 taking 2nd and anchored the winning 4x400m relay (48.2split).

Freshman Nathan Goodrich (below) also loaded up on events and points during the week and totalled 19 of his own after seven events. The '07 CCS Champ won the triple jump on Saturday with a leap of 45-1.5. Goodrich also took 4th in the long jump (21-7) and 7th in the high jump (5-7). The freshman was also a member of both relays as well.

Runner-up Vikings at the championships were sophomores Josh Hernandez, Terry Gross, and Robin Yoo. Hernandez was passed just before the line in the men's 1500m (4:02.17) and later went on to take 5th in the 800m (2:00.04) and 8th in the 5k (16:36). Gross ran a huge PR in the open 400m (49.06) to take second to Mullen and would later return as a member of the winning 4x400m relay team. Yoo lost a close battle for the long jump title (22-2.5), but came back with a 4th place finish in the triple jump (43-2.75). Yoo also anchored our 4x100 team that took 2nd.

On the ladies side, our lone All-Conference recipient was sophomore Kathrin Brenner in the 3000m Steeplechase (13:59). Just off of getting these honors in 4th place was freshman Sandra Sosa in the Steeple (14:23) and the 10k (47:33).
-Complete Results -

The Vikings will bring 17 athletes to the Trials of the Northern California Championships next Friday at CSM. From there, either 9 or 12 athletes will advance to the finals (depending on the event) on May 9th.

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April 24th, 2008
Conference Trials Goes Well
Vikings Tally 37 Points Towards Men's Team

MONTEREY - Day one of the Coast Conference Championships are complete and after a handful of events that were finals, your Vikings are sitting in 2nd place behind the defending champs of Hartnell.

Sophomore Robin Yoo was beat out in his quest to defend his conf title from last year in the men's long jump. His leap of 22-2.5 led the competition until the CCSF guy had a big jump on the 5th attempt. Yoo responded with a leap over 23 feet, but narrowly stepped over the board and the mark did not count. But a 2nd place effort gave our men 8 points.

Teammates Nathan Goodrich (21-7; 4th place), BJ Miller (21-5.5; 5th), and Ben Mullen (21-3; 6th) also brought home some points for our team with their finishes. A total of 20 points were collected by our long jumpers.

Frosh Doug Leresche (at right) had a big final throw in the men's Javelin to finish 4th in the event. A personal best of 150-5 was just short of the NorCal provisional mark of 153-0. Sophomore Zack Wicht struggled a bit and threw 134-2 to finish 6th. Teammate Rattanak Muor had a nice PR to get him the 8th and final scoring point with a best of 131-5.

Wicht returned in the men's pole vault for a season best clearance of 10-6, which was good enough for 4th place.

In the men's 10k, freshman Eddie Lopez held tight with a pack of Hartnell runners for five miles, but struggled to cover the final move and would finish 6th in his debut with a time of 34:15.

On the women's side, we would collect 7 points from our 10,000 meter runners. Freshman Sandra Sosa notched a nice 47:33 in her first attempt at the 25 lap distance. The time was good enough for 4th place. Frosh Jackie Tennant had a huge showing with her 50:44 clocking to finish 7th.

Many other Vikings qualified from the trials events into the finals to be contested on Saturday. It should be a great battle for the team title on the men's side with Hartnell, CCSF, and your West Valley Vikings. The meet starts at 12noon at Monterey Peninsula College. Hope you can make it!!

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April 22nd, 2008
Vikings Prepare for Coast Conference Championships
Monterey Peninsula College to Host

Final heat sheets are out for the trials competition to be held on Wednesday. On the men's side, your West Valley tracksters are one of three teams looking for the team title. Last year, Hartnell College took home the men's title with San Francisco getting runner-up honors. This year, the Vikings hope to sneak in for some extra points in some areas and hopefully sneak in to the top 3.

Competition begins on Wednesday at 3pm at MPC with trials in the running events and some finals in the field events. - Heat Sheets -

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April 18th, 2008
West Valley Has Final Tune-Up Before Conference
Harlan Anderson Memorial Meet Offers Late Marks

MARTINEZ - In the final non-championship meet of the season, your Vikings were able to get some last minute marks and the men came out on top in the team battle.

Adding to the changes on our All-Time List were throwers Casey Price and Zack Wicht (at left). Both men made it on our top 10 in the men's hammer throw. Currently, Wicht is ranked 3rd in the conference in the javelin, while Price is ranked 7th in the shot put. Wicht also competed in the pole vault for the first time this season and got a mark in order to compete at the conference meet.

Many other athletes stepped up in new events, including Nathan Goodrich in the high jump (5-8), Ben Mullen in the long jump (20-10), and Genti Fici in the 3000m steeplechase (12:35).

Now the Vikings will face up against all our Coast Conference opponents at the 2008 Conf Championships. The competition is at Monterey Peninsula College with the trials on Wednesday and the finals on Saturday.

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April 13th, 2008
Vikings Earn Impressive Marks at Johnny Mathis
More NorCal Standards Met

SAN FRANCISCO - Another week of great competition for our young Vikings and we definitely took advantage of it. A constant as part of our schedule the past few years and each season we make the most of the fierce competition and notch solid mid-season bests and provisional marks.

Freshman Nathan Goodrich was back on top this week in the triple jump with a season best of 46-8.5 for the win. Goodrich was also a member of both winning relay teams that also earned season bests.

The 4x100m relay team (San Agustin, Mullen, Goodrich, Yoo) moved up on the All-Time list again this week (#4) with their 42.04 clocking. Our men closed the day with a victory in the 4x400 with a very impressive run of 3:16.84. Gross, Armon, Goodrich, and Mullen's time puts us at number 1 in our conference. Sophomore Brian San Agustin was able to get on the board in the men's 200m this week with a nice 22.74 to win his heat. The former Evergreen Valley sprinter also improved his 100m time to 11.08.

Middle distance duo, Ian Lujan and Josh Hernandez both collected big PR's on the day. Lujan won his heat of the men's 1500m with a new best time of 4:03.96. Hernandez ran a fresh 800 and finally took down his high school PR with his 1:56.32 clocking. Both men have continued to lower their bests each week.

In the hurdles, soph Ben Mullen lowered his best in the 110HH to 15.15 and qualified for the finals later in the day, but did not finish after hitting a few hurdles. The pattern continued in the 400IH as he hit the ninth hurdle. He was able to finish just off his best, but surely would have run faster in a clean race. Freshman Andrew McReynolds ran a huge season best of 57.16 to win his heat.

Freshman Sandra Sosa continues to show her toughness and she completed 8400m for the day. She started off with a personal best of 14:00.75 in the women's 3000m steeple. Much later in the day, Sosa would run the 5000m with teammate Jackie Tennant (25:29). Sosa ended her long Saturday as our anchor for the 4x400m relay team (Carrasco, Erkander, J. Prestano, Sosa).
- Complete Results -

The Vikings will compete in the Harlan Anderson Memorial Invite this Friday as a final tune0up before our Conference Championships next week.

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April 5th, 2008
Mullen Has Busy Day at Stanford
Mullen Drops 400m Time, Men's 4x100 Moves Up

STANFORD - Day two of the Stanford Invite offered some fierce competition and West Valley took full advantage of it. With our depth on the men's side, we were able to get in an "A" and a "B" team for both relays. Individually, we also had 3 men fired up to compete.

Sophomore Ben Mullen, with his newly fractured wrist, ran for Aric Armon in the open 400m and blazed for a win in the slow heat. But that didn't stop him from lowering his best to 49.01 and moving up on our All-Time List (#8). Overall, Mullen finished 13th in the event.

Freshman Nathan Goodrich competed in the triple jump in the "B" sections. His best jump of 45-6.25 was good enough for 8th place.

Our men's 4x100m relay team moved up on the All-Time list with their 42.50 clocking as they finished just behind rival SJCC in their heat and took 7th overall. Our "B" team in the event ran a solid 43.64 for 11th.

The Men's 4x400m relay went well with our Vikes clocking a 3:18.51 for the "A" team and a 3:24.98 for our "B" team.
- Complete Results -

* * *

April 4th, 2008
Day 1 at Stanford and Chabot Goes Well For Vikings
Lujan Drops His 800 Time, Sosa Makes All-Time List

STANFORD/HAYWARD - A select few athletes were entered in one of two meets this weekend and after the first day, many of our Vikes faired well.

At Stanford, sophomore Ben Mullen suffered a damaging fall in the final hurdle in the 110HH event which fractured his wrist. With a brace on his arm, he returned later in the day to finish 7th overall in the men's 400IH with a time of 54.54. On the runways, soph Robin Yoo had three jumps over 22 feet, with a final best of 22-2.5, good enough for 3rd in the "B" section of the Long Jump event.

At Chabot, we brought 4 distance runners to take their hand at some NorCal qualifying marks. Three of the four would be successful in this quest. Freshman Sandra Sosa (at right) ventured in her first ever 3000m steeplechase event. Her time of 14:48.5 put her just under the NorCal provisional mark and gave her the 5th fastest time in school history.

Two of our freshmen also attempted their first steeple with some success. Recent All-Conf rep from XC, Eddie Lopez hit a provisional mark with a time of 10:29. Alex Oliver ran well with a clocking of 11:16.

Sophomore Ian Lujan stole the show for the day with his huge PR in the men's 800m. A commanding win in his heat with a time of 1:56.99 was good enough for 2nd overall. The soph was unchallenged for more than 500m of the race.

Day 2 at Stanford will begin at 1pm with the the men's 1500m (Josh Hernandez). At 2:30, freshman Nathan Goodrich will meet up in the "B" sections of the triple jump. Sophomore Ben Mullen will run in place of Aric Armon in the men's 400m at 2:30 as well. West Valley will also send two relay teams to the line in the men's 4x100m and 4x400m.

* * *

March 28th, 2008
West Valley Adds Another Mark to the Record Books
Men's 4x400m Relay Runs 6th Best in School History

SAN MATEO - The Vikings put together another great day of track & field at the College of San Mateo. With three individual wins on the day, the men's team was victorious in the team competition.

Soph Josh Hernandez started the day off with a very strong win in the men's 1500m with his first sub-4 of the season. Against some very strong competition, Hernandez clocked a personal best of 3:58.29. He returned later in the day to run a 2:01 and a 52.0 split on one of the 4x400m relay teams.

Our men's 4x400m "A" team clocked a season best of 3:17.49, which now stands as our 6th fastest ever run in school history. Led off by freshman Nathan Goodrich with a split of 50.1, he would hand off to sophomore Terry Gross (at left). The former Oak Grove Eagle would split under 50sec for the first time with a 49.7 split. Freshman Aric Armon, who has been sidelined from full training was still able to come back strong with a 49.0 split as he handed off to Ben Mullen. The sophomore split an amazing 48.4 to put us very close to Modesto, but gave us a season best of 3:17.

Sophomore Robin Yoo continued his winning ways with another victory in the men's Long Jump with a best leap of 22-3.5. Freshman Nathan Goodrich won the men's Triple Jump with a best mark of 44-8.25.

Sophomore Yareni Carrasco lowered her best in the women's 400m to 60.65 to finish 4th. Sophomore Kathrin Brenner ran well in the women's 3000m steeplechase to also take 4th place with a time of 14:06.
- Complete Results -

Next up for the Vikings is the busy 2-meet weekend. Chabot College and Stanford University are both hosting 2-day meets on Fri/Sat. West Valley will bring a select few to each meet, and the remaining athletes will get a weekend of rest.

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March 23rd, 2008
32nd Annual West Valley Relays
Los Gatos' Nico Weiler Sets New Meet Record

SARATOGA - Great weather greeted the 1300+ athletes from 66 high schools on Friday and Saturday. West Valley College hosted their 32nd version of the West Valley Relays with co-host Los Gatos HS. Team titles were a close battle in the Varsity divisions with Evergreen Valley's boys getting the win with 37 points over North Monterey County, San Benito, and Los Gatos' 36 points. Los Altos won the girls division with 54 points over Milpitas' 50. Bellarmine defended their frosh-soph title with a commanding 118 points over Mountain View's 92.

Senior, Nico Weiler (at right) stole the show on Saturday with his impressive win in the boys Pole Vault. The Los Gatos sensation cleared 17-0, which beat the previous meet record of 16-0 set by Marc Kibort (Saratoga-'83) and Steve Harris (Del Mar-'97). Weiler attempted 17-2 (the highest our standards could go), but failed to make a clean clearance and settled for 17-0.

Other standout performances from the weekend included Willow Glen's photo-finish victory in the boys 4x1600m over Aptos with both dipping under 18min. Recent CCS Champion from XC, Tyre Johnson of Palma won the boys 5000m with a time of 15:41. Mountain View's frosh-soph boys came within 3 seconds of breaking the meet record in the distance medley (10:48).

Senior, Golde Ibia of Evergreen Valley destroyed the competition in the girls 100m hurdles with a time of 14.75. San Lorenzo Valley's girls sprint medley (200-200-400-800) won with a time of 4:14.30 with Taylor Johnson running an impressive anchor leg for the 800m distance. Luisa Musika of Milpitas was a double winner in the throwing events. The senior bested her competitors with marks of 38-6 and 121-7 in the shot put and discus, respectively.
- Complete Results -

* * *

March 21st, 2008
Vikings Compete on Home Turf
Seven Wins Help Men Win Invite

SARATOGA - The West Valley College Track & Field teams faired well on their home track and tallied many season and personal bests, as well as a number of NorCal Provisional marks. The men captured seven victories which helped them secure the team win over conference rival Hartnell College.

Soph Josh Hernandez (at left) had an impressive triple on his home track. Last year's State qualifier led from wire to wire in the men's 1500m to a season best of 4:04.46. He returned in the men's 800m to win his heat with his first sub-2 performance of 2008 (1:59.62), good enough for 4th overall. In his final event he would split 51.4 in the men's 4x400m relay.

Soph Zack Wicht turned some heads with his improvement in the men's Javelin. His winning throw of 157-7 surpassed the NorCal Provisional mark and gives him the 2nd best mark in the conference. Freshman Doug Leresche also threw well for 3rd place (146-5) in his first collegiate event.

Soph Robin Yoo held onto his 7 meet win streak in the men's long jump with his leap of 20-11.5. He would later lower his best in the men's 100m to 11.29 for 6th overall. Freshman Nathan Goodrich lost a tough battle in the triple jump, but made up for it on the track with two wins and two personal bests. He ran a strong 400m (49.73) and a blazing 200m (22.43).

Soph Ian Lujan had an impressive run in the men's 800m against one of America's top milers, Steve Sherer. Lujan ran a personal best of 1:58.42 for second place. Soph Ben Mullen also tried his hand in the half-mile and ran an solid 2:00.61.
- Complete Results -

This weekend, your Vikings are hosting one of the biggest high school Invitationals in northern california. The 2-day event begins Friday with the frosh-soph boys and then the varsity girls and boys compete on Saturday.

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March 15th, 2008
Yoo and Goodrich Keep Streak Alive
Both Are Undefeated In First Six Contests

MODESTO - Low temps and strong winds swept the stadium at Modesto Junior College (the site of the 2008 NorCal Finals) late into the evening hours. Our Vikings faired well as our men finished 5th out of the 14 community college teams in attendance. Host, Modesto garnered points in almost every event to secure their team win.

Sophomore Robin Yoo (at right) tied his collegiate best of 22-8.75 for the win in the men's long jump and continues his undefeated win streak in this event. The former Milpitas Trojan has the top mark in the conference and is ranked 2nd in NorCal.

Teammate Nathan Goodrich holds the same honor with another victory in the men's triple jump this week. The 2007 CCS TJ champion, won with a final best mark of 45-11. Freshman BJ Miller was second in the event with a leap of 43-11.25.

Our women recorded their fastest time of the season in the 4x100m relay (53.13) to finish 3rd. Lead-off runner, Jennifer Prestano would later run a season best in the open 100m (13.72) and also compete in the 200m (28.97).
- Complete Results -

This week your Vikings are hosting a big weekend of track meets. On Thursday is the Bill Campbell Invite which will bring many local community college, university, and post-collegiate athletes. On Friday and Saturday we host our 32nd Annual West Valley Relays in which all the high schools in the section are invited. A big weekend for us... you don't want to miss it!

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March 9th, 2008
Long Day at Beaver Relays
Vikings Do Well in Relays

SACRAMENTO - Your West Valley tracksters met up with most schools in Northern California at the 23rd Annual Beaver Relays. American River College hosted another succesful event giving many of our Vikings an opportunity to show off our depth and talents on the track and on the runways.

Former Scotts Valley star, Ben Mullen won the open 110m HH in commanding fashion. The sophomore ran a time of 15.26 for the win and a new personal best. Mullen also had a monster split in the sprint medley (2-2-4-8) as the 400m leg (48.8). He was a member of our historical 4x100m relay team that now holds the 9th fastest time in school history (42.59).

Our horizontal jump team also won their "relay" events. Each teams three best jumpers' marks are added together and the team with the longest collected mark, wins. With the help of Robin Yoo and Nathan Goodrich's victories in the long and the triple, respectively, West Valley came out on top. In the long jump, Yoo won with a 22-6.5 season best. Goodrich took 3rd (21-7.75) and BJ Miller finished 8th (20-9.5). They each returned in the triple jump with Goodrich on top (44-10.75), Miller in 4th (42-4.25), and Yoo in 6th (40-2).

Freshman Sandra Sosa had a busy day as our anchor for 4 different relays and she also competed in 2 individual events. In the sprint medley, she ran the 800m leg in a season best time of 2:51. She also threw personal bests in the javelin (52-0) and shot put (23-1.5).
- Complete Results -

The Vikings will travel to Modesto on Friday for the Jack Albiani Classic. It looks to be a big meet, so our athletes will likely get the opportunity to compete under the lights in some of the later events.

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February 29th, 2008
Vikings "Leap" to Many New Bests
Yoo and Goodrich On Top Again

SAN MATEO - College of San Mateo hosted a special Leap Day Meet that brought many of the top Northern California teams head to head. West Valley met up with Santa Rosa, Diablo Valley, American River, Chabot, and San Mateo. In their final matchup before the invitational season, the Vikings collected many new season and personal bests. The men finished 2nd as a team to the always strong American River College 198 to 131. The Lady Vikes finished 6th with 36 points.

Another fantastic showing by our long and triple jumpers this week. Freshman Nathan Goodrich (at right) had a busy day with his 5 events. A very commanding win in the triple jump with a 46-1.5 jump and a member of both the 4x100m and the 4x400m relay teams. Goodrich also ran the open 100m and 200m races (11.56 and 23.05) and took 4th in the long jump (20-1.25). Sophomore Robin Yoo continued his winning ways with a victory in the long jump. This week his winning leap was 21-11. Yoo also ran the anchor leg of our winning 4x100m relay team (43.38). Teammate BJ Miller also had a busy day with a pair of 2nd place finishes in the jumps (20-7.5 and 44-8.75).

On the track our Vikings posted numerous bests including wins in both hurdle races. Sophomore Jairus Taylor won the 110HH (16.74) and took 2nd in the 400IH (58.51). Freshman Justin Kirksey collected his first collegiate win with his 57.25 in the 400IH.

Sophomore Ben Mullen won the open 400m with a time of 49.20. The time now stands as our schools 9th fastest in history. Sophomore Ian Lujan had a nice personal best in the men's 800m. A victory in his heat with a time of 1:59.64 was the 6th fastest of the day. Freshman Aric Armon had a pair of personal bests as well in the men's open 200m and 400m events (22.93 and 49.74).

The women faired well with what we had on this day. Sophomore Yareni Carrasco ran a season best in the 200m (26.74). She also ran 12.90 in the open 100m and split a 62.5 in the women's 4x400m relay that took 2nd. Freshman Jenny Erkander improved her Long Jump to 14-2.75 and took 5th. She also ran the 100m (14.53) and the 400IH (74.14) for the first time ever.
- Complete Results -

Next up for the Vikings is the Beaver Relays held at American River College. Most schools in Northern California come together to compete in a variety of different relay events. The meet starts at 10am on Saturday and goes til 5:30pm.

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February 22nd, 2008
West Valley Men Collect First Team Win of the Season
Mullen Runs State Fastest in Hurdles

SAN MATEO - The Vikings are turning heads week after week. In the second NorCal Rotational meet, held this week at College of San Mateo, West Valley put up many top marks on the State List. As a team, our men showed great strength as we came out on top in team scoring, beating out the always strong CCSF.

Sophomore Ben Mullen (at left) led the way with a fantastic showing in both hurdle races. His wins, with times of 15.32 and 54.41, ranked him 1st in the State at the time in the 110HH and 400IH, respectively. Ben's time in the 400IH also puts him on our WVC All-Time Top 10 List at number 8. On top of his new personal bests, Mullen also ran a leg on the winning relay teams. The sophomore also threw 126-10 in the men's Javelin for second place.

West Valley also collected wins in the horizontal jumps again this week. Sophomore Robin Yoo won the men's long jump with a leap of 21-9.5. Yoo also anchored our winning 4x100m relay team that ran 43.16. Freshman Nathan Goodrich remains undefeated this season in the men's triple jump. This week the recent CCS champion improved his season best to 45-7 in his final attempt to win the event.

Freshman Sandra Sosa was our top finisher on the ladies side with her 2nd place finish in the women's 3000m event. Her time of 13:21 was a new best which followed her season best in the 1500m (5:53). Sophomore Yareni Carrasco ran a 13.30 in the women's 100m despite being sick. In the Javelin, freshman Jennifer Prestano improved her best to 73-4 which was good enough for 3rd place.
- Complete Results -

The Vikings will return to San Mateo next week and face some fierce competition including last year's Women's NorCal Champions of American River College.

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February 16th, 2008
Vikings Continue to Impress
Men Collect Eight Wins

MONTEREY - West Valley College took their teams to Monterey once again this week and put together another solid showing. Both men and women tallied many top 3 performances on the day.

The men showed up ready to compete. West Valley captured wins in the horizontal jumps again this week. Sophomore and defending conf champ, Robin Yoo (at right), was victorious again in the men's long jump with a leap of 21-6. His mark from last week (22') stands as the top mark in NorCal still. Yoo also anchored our winning 4x100m relay (42.98). Freshman Nathan Goodrich is also on top of the throne for the second week in a row with his win in the men's triple jump. His mark of 43-7.5 was slightly ahead of his teammate, BJ Miller (43-5). Goodrich had a busy day as a member of both relays and also earned himself a 2nd place finish to teammate Terry Gross (50.64) in the men's open 400m with a time of 51.18.

Sophomore Ben Mullen had an impressive day with 3 wins and two individual marks in the hurdle race that met the NorCal qualifying standard. He would start the day with the 2nd best throw in the men's Javelin (133-5). Teammate, Zack Wicht captured the win with a mark of 143-5. Mullen then took to the track as the second leg of the winning 4x100m relay team. Mullen followed that up with a win in the men's 110 high hurdles (15.64). He lost a tough battle in the men's 400m IH but ran a nice early season time of 55.63. The sophomore closed the day as our anchor in the 4x400m relay with a split of 49.5. The team ran 3:23 again this week.

Sophomore Josh Hernandez, the top returning NorCal runner in the 1500m, opened his season in commanding fashion with a victory in the men's 1500m with a time of 4:05.49. That mark currently leads all of Northern California. He would later return in the men's 800m and narrowly get passed just before the line with a 2:02.48 clocking. Teammate Ian Lujan would also record a nice early season 1500m time (4:12.23) to win his heat.

On the women's side, our ladies tallied six runner-up spots. Frosh and anchor for both relays, Nicole Haggerty had an impressive day herself. The former Santa Teresa runner took 2nd in both the 1500m and the 800m in her first track meet in over 2 years. Haggerty recorded times of 5:21 and 2:39 for those events and anchored our 4x400m relay team with a split of 68.9. Sophomore Yareni Carrasco was also on both relay teams (53.83 and 4:28.08). She split a 62.2 to start us off. Carrasco also took 2nd in the women's 100m with a nice early season mark of 12.80.

In the field events, freshman Jen Prestano took 2nd place and notched a 70' throw in the women's Javelin for her first time in the event. She also had a busy day as a member of both relay team and ran the open 100m and 200m (13.98 and 28.80, respectively). Newcomer to the track & field world was frosh Jenny Erkander. A member of both relay teams, Erkander also finished 2nd in the women's long jump with a leap of 13-9.
- Complete Results -

The Vikings will make a trip north this week to College of San Mateo for a 6-way meet against CCSF, Diablo Valley, Santa Rosa, Chabot, and American River.

* * *

February 9th, 2008
West Valley Stands Out at Coast Conference Preview
Six Overall Wins For Men

MONTEREY - Perfect weather and clear skies greeted our Vikings as they joined conference opponents for the inaugural use of the new track and field facilities at Monterey Peninsula College. The season opener went very well for these young Vikings as we walked away with six wins and many other top performances throughout the day. The non-scored meet gave everyone the opportunity to see how much their hard work in the off-season paid off. If the meet had been scored, the Viking men would have placed a close 2nd to De Anza College and beaten out last year's Conference Champions of Hartnell.

Earning himself a very solid 4 wins on the day was freshman Aric Armon (at left). The recent Milpitas grad has already made a name for himself in his first collegiate meet. The freshman started the day as a member of the winning 4x100m relay team (43.28). He followed that up with wins in the 400m (50.23) and the 200m (23.00). Armon concluded the day with an opening split of 50.4 on the winning 4x400m relay team (3:23.01).

Also earning a win on Friday was last year's conference champion in the long jump, Robin Yoo. The returning sophomore led the field in the long jump once again with a leap of 22-0.5. Earlier in the day, Yoo anchored the same winning 4x100m relay team as Armon and took third in the men's triple jump (43-3.75). Another athlete making a name for himself on the college scene was freshman Nathan Goodrich. The 2007 CCS Champion in the boys triple jump started off his collegiate career right where he left off. Goodrich's jump of 45-2 is only a 19 inches shy of last year's conference best mark. The recent Evergreen Valley HS grad also finished 3rd in the men's 200m (23.14) and was on the winning 4x400m relay team.

On the women's side, sophomore Yareni Carrasco was our top performer in the women's 200m with a time of 27.45 which was good enough for 3rd place. She would also place 4th earlier in the day in the open 400m with a time of 62.96.
- Complete Results -

The Vikings will return to Monterey next Friday at the first of two northern california 5-way meets. West Valley will face up against Hartnell, San Francisco, Sequoias and host school Monterey Peninsula College. Join us for another fun day as the Vikings continue on their quest for top marks. View the 2008 season schedule so you don't miss any action.

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February 5th, 2008
Vikings Prepare for the Start of the 2008 Season
Coast Conference Preview Set for Friday at MPC

Your West Valley Vikings have been hard at work over the winter break and are ready to show their competitors how much their hard work has paid off. Check out all the new and returning Vikings tracksters on this year's team. While you're at it, check out our season schedule and mark your calendars so you can join us at a few meets this year.

We will meet up with all our rivals in the conference this Friday at Monterey Peninsula College. Come support your Vikings as they take on all the Coast Conference opponents, including San Francisco, Hartnell, and De Anza. Field events begin at noon and the running events start at 1pm.

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November 8th, 2007
West Valley to Host Winter Track & Field Clinic
All Coaches and Athletes Welcome

West Valley College will be hosting and informative clinic for coaches and athletes on January 12th. Please join us and listen to some of the top Track and Field Coaches in the State of California present new ideas, techniques, and information on various track and field events. Some of our presenters include Millard Hampton, Bob Slover, and Anita Bolton.

Registration is only $30 per person. For more information and for registration, please contact Coach Al Hernandez at (510) 651-3162 or runalrun@yahoo.com.
- View the Clinic Schedule (pdf) -

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October 3, 2007
2008 Track & Field Schedule Up

The 2008 West Valley College Track and Field schedule is now up. Mark your calendars so you can join us and show your support.

For more information about the season, the team, or how to become a part of it... simply contact the coaches at 408.741.2457 or Lisa_Renteria@westvalley.edu

As we prepare for the upcoming season, take a moment to look at results and highlights from our 2007 campaign.

- - - 2007 WVC Track & Field - - -

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